Beautiful Bruises ~ Camilo Madrigal x Reader

Pick One

Dying wasn't unpleasant, not when you were in the arms of somebody you cared about. It was like going to sleep with a full stomach with warm blankets.

But you felt completely alone.

There was nobody. It was dark. You couldn't move, breathe, see. There was just... nothing.

Dying wasn't unpleasant. But being dead was.

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3rd person POV:

Camilo grabbed her head between his hands, shaking it, trying to wake her up.

"Please... just hold on a little longer! I can save you! I know I can!"

She didn't move.

"(Y/N)!" he shouted, swiping at the tears getting in his way. "(Y/N), wake up!... you can't die, you can't..." He pressed his forehead to hers, lifting her head slightly. He rocked back and forth on his heels, sobbing. Nobody disturbed him for a while - they stood and watched, letting him have his moment before Pepa quietly stepped forward and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Camilo," she said softly, reaching for his hand. He refused to take it, instead standing up and walking off. Nobody stopped him.

Augustine and Felix grabbed the girl's father under his arms, dragging him away, taking him to the other side of the mountain.

And everyone else left to start cleaning up and rebuilding, struggling to hold in their tears. Isabela refused to leave Jude's side, and that left Mirabel standing amidst the rubble, staring at the girl who had been her close friend, the girl she had hurt in the last few minutes of her life.

She crept to her side, suppressing painful tears. But then the candle, which she still held in her pocket, flared up. She quickly snatched it from her skirt so that it didn't catch fire, gazing down at the flame. It was glowing brighter, only for a moment - and then her abuelo Pedro was in front of her, smiling. He was nearly transparent, clearly just a ghost.

"Abuelo?" Mirabel breathed, eyes wide.

He nodded.

"Hello, Mirabel. It's nice to meet you. However, I can't be here long, so let's make this quick."

"What is it?" she asked, looking tearfully down at her dead friend. "Now isn't exactly the best time..."

"But it is," Pedro responded, striding forward and looking at the two dead siblings laying on the ground. "Because, Mirabel, you have a gift."

"No I don't," she responded immediately. "My door disappeared."

He simply smiled, a melancholy one that clearly pained him.

"That's because your gift is... unusual. It could be used to do horrible things when in the wrong hands. You, granddaughter, can bring people back from the dead."

"What?!" Mirabel cried. "I can save them! I can save (Y/N) and Jude!"

"Wait!" Pedro shouted before she could do anything, reaching his hand out. "There are restraints. And... consequences."

"What are they?" she asked, fidgeting. "Quick! I want to save them!"

"You can only revive one person each year, and... the person you bring back will be... different. Their days will be dark, filled with hallucinations. Their nights will be scarring, filled with nightmares. If you bring them back, their most traumatic moments will replay so often in their heads they might wish they were still dead. Make sure you are positive they want to live before you bring them back."

He stepped backwards, his smile fading.

"Be careful, Mirabel. And tell Alma that I love her." Then he disappeared along with his smile, leaving Mirabel wondering how on earth she was going to bring somebody back to life - and who she was going to bring back to life.

"I want to pick (Y/N)," she whispered, staring down at her friend, laying in a pool of her own slowly drying blood, and then at Jude, whom Isabela was still draped across. "But Isabela is my sister, and if I don't save Jude..."

Suddenly the sky grew dark, and left Mirabel with just (Y/N) and Jude, laying on the rubble-covered ground. 

"I have to pick now?" Mirabel breathed, her eyes widening.

Isabela appeared in front of her, grief-stricken and sobbing, a glowing golden form. And then Camilo appeared too, his usual relaxed stature and teasing smirk gone, leaving a cold shell of a teenage boy. His eyes were angry and hateful and guilty.

"I don't know!" Mirabel cried, throwing her hands out. "I don't know who to choose! I'm sorry, I..."

"Pick one," the two golden silhouettes said in unison.

So she had no choice but to step forward and make her choice, even though it broke her heart.

Even though she would be guilty for the rest of her life.